How to Prosper in Boll Weevil Territory

by George Howard Alford

Thoroughly Prepare the Soil: The soil should be plowed deep for the following reasons: First, to increase the water-holding capacity; second, to let the water escape from the surface without running over the ground and washing it off; third, to permit the air to circulate freely for a considerable depth in the soil; fourth, to secure crops against droughts by enabling the cotton roots to go down to moisture; fifth, to increase the area from which plant roots may obtain food. It is advisable to flat break the land in the fall and winter and then bed it some time before the planting season. The bed should be disked or harrowed just before planting the cotton seed, but it is seldom advisable to re-bed the land just before planting. Cotton comes up quicker, grows off faster and begins bearing sooner on a well settled, firm seed bed. It is not wise to plant the cotton on freshly prepared land.

The late cotton is for weevil—not for the farmer.
The boll weevil prevented the above late cotton from making a single boll.

Apply Commercial Fertilizers: Where the soil responds to commercial fertilizer, it is advisable to make heavy applications to hasten maturity and increase the yield. It is best to use fertilizers which will stimulate the fruit rather than stalk growth. High grade, 16 per cent acid phosphate is the basis for increasing fruit and hastening maturity; cotton seed meal is usually the basis for stimulating stalk growth. A mixture of two parts of 16 per cent acid phosphate and one part of 6 per cent cotton seed meal is a good mixture for cotton on soil of average fertility.

It will usually also pay to mix about ten pounds of nitrate of soda with every bushel of seed just before it is put into the planter. The nitrate of soda has a tendency to cause the young cotton to grow vigorously and resist the bad effects of cool nights. It also usually pays to make a side application of nitrate of soda just after the cotton has been thinned the first time.

Plant Early Varieties: The production of an early cotton crop requires carefully selected seed of an early, rapid-fruiting, prolific variety. This seed may be purchased each year, or selected from cotton plants with low fruit limbs and short joints on the main stem and fruit limbs. With the weevil pest to combat, the value of using the earliest and most prolific seed cannot be over-estimated.

It is advisable for the average farmer to buy the best early varieties from some reputable breeder and then use every known method to increase the earliness and productiveness of the cotton. Reports of tests at the Government Experiment Stations name the earliest and most prolific varieties of cotton. It is not good business to buy varieties of seed that have not been shown to be the earliest and most prolific by actual tests in the fields through a sufficient number of years to eliminate weather conditions. Seed should not be purchased because of high-sounding names or exaggerated claims.

Plant the Seed Early: Seed should be planted just as early as the season will permit. This is important in the work of hastening the cotton crop to early maturity. The weevils do not multiply until the squares begin to form. They seldom become sufficiently numerous to destroy the squares as fast as they form, before the last of July. While it is important to plant as early as the season will permit, do not forget that cotton is a tropical plant and is badly effected by cold weather.

Cultivate the Young Cotton: Cultivation should begin before the cotton comes up. This may be done by running a steel peg tooth harrow over the field either at right angles or diagonally across the rows. This helps to let the young cotton plants through and at the same time kills millions of tiny weeds and much grass just as they are coming up. The cultivation should be repeated when the little cotton is about five days old. This early cultivation kills the grass and weeds in the sprout and forms a soil mulch all over the field, which holds the moisture in the ground, thus making the little plants grow more rapidly. Early cultivation with the harrow will reduce the necessary work with the hoe to the minimum.

If for any reason the peg tooth harrow cannot be used, the ordinary one-horse harrows should be used to stir the soil on top of the beds just before the cotton comes up. The harrow or cultivator used will kill the little grass and weeds and leave a shallow, loose layer of soil on the surface.